ADHD in Adults and Dementia

ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a condition which makes it hard to children to concentrate on a work or sit still for long. It is now believed that adults who have ADHD may have higher chances of developing dementia in later stages of their life. The chances are up to three times for adults with ADHD to have dementia when compared to adults who do not have ADHD. It mostly happens because the brain has various parts which work together to help control our abilities and senses. They also help to concentrate. Adults who suffer from ADHD usually have it from their childhood and during the childhood, these parts of the brain develop slowly and are less active when compared to other children of the same age group. It can be a lifelong condition and the symptoms may not go away ever.

It is believed that more than 10% children across the globe have been diagnosed with ADHD and the symptoms may decline in some kids, others are not that lucky. It is believed that in the United States alone more than 4 percent adults have ADHD. The number of people suffering from dementia is even worse. The World Health Organisation has estimated that more than 45 million people from all over the world suffer from a certain form of dementia.

In the past, ADHD has been associated with various other health disorders as well such as depression and bipolar disorder. Also, older people with Lewy body dementia are more likely to have ADHD symptoms or even Alzheimer`s disease. There were various tests that were done with people who had ADHD and others who did not have the symptoms of ADHD. Here it was established that people with ADHD were 3.4 times more likely to have dementia. The study was done for over a period of 10 years. Although these case studies were done over a long time period the researchers did not take into considerations the possible causes which could be the link between these two conditions. Also, they were unable to understand the underlying mechanism which causes these two conditions.

There were certain limitations in these studies as well, mostly because the data was picked from insurance claims submitted by people. Certain other factors such as family history, diet, education levels and genetics which may have played a role were not available to the researchers, hence they could not make a detailed study about the same.

It was also noted that most of this diagnosis included were not uniform. It is believed that some of the people in the group may have ADHD but were not known at the time of the study. It is still believed that current findings are not enough and they may need further findings and additional studies to understand the effects of ADHD and the link between the two. It is imperative that more research should be done in this field so that people suffering from dementia can have a chance of improving the symptoms and even get a cure for the same.